Rail passengers affected by fresh wave of strikes

WORKERS at the district’s largest train operating company Northern are staging a fresh wave of strikes in the bitter disputes over the role of guards, causing disruption to services in the first full week back to work after the festive break.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out today, Wednesday and Friday on Arriva Rail North (Northern), which runs services on the Airedale, Wharfedale and Calderdale routes.

Similar action is taking place at South Western Railway (SWR), Merseyrail and Greater Anglia, and on Monday on Southern.

Richard Allan, Arriva Rail North's deputy managing director, said the company was committed to investing in new and updated trains, better stations and faster journeys.

"During talks, Northern again offered to guarantee jobs and pay for conductors for the rest of our franchise to 2025 if we can reach agreement with RMT."

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Every single effort that RMT has made to reach negotiated settlements in these separate disputes with the different train operating companies over safe operation and safe staffing has been kicked back in our faces and we are left with no option but to press ahead with the action.

"No one should be in any doubt, these disputes are about putting the safety of the travelling public before the profits of the private train companies.

"It is frankly ludicrous that we have been able to negotiate long-term arrangements in Scotland and Wales that protect the guards and passenger safety but we are being denied the same opportunities with rail companies in England.

"This suspension of normal industrial relations by the employers has to end if we are to make progress towards a solution that guarantees safe rail travel for all.

"RMT is in no doubt that it is the dead hand of the minority Tory Government that is interfering in these disputes and that their influence is a factor in preventing the union from reaching negotiated settlements.

"With the fare increases kicking in this week it is outrageous that Theresa May and Chris Grayling are happy to stand aside and cheer on overseas rail companies that rip off the British passenger with eye-watering fare increases to subsidise their domestic transport operations while throwing the guards off our trains.

"RMT is demanding that the blockade on talks is lifted in these separate disputes to allow us to negotiate freely with the companies and give us the opportunity to pursue the objective of a guard guarantee that puts British passenger safety before the rank exploitation of our rail network by fare-jacking private companies."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "Despite the best efforts of the RMT to cause misery for passengers, the train companies will keep passengers moving with the majority of services running as planned.

"This dispute is not about safety and no-one is losing their job - employees have been guaranteed jobs and salaries for several years.

"At Southern Rail, where these changes have already been introduced, there are now more staff dedicated to working on trains than previously.

"The independent rail regulator has stated unequivocally that driver-controlled trains, which have been used in this country for more than thirty years, are safe."

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